Sonny, the short and simple of it: THE MACHINES LIE!!! Every single BP test the military has given me has been high (between 141/85 and 149/92) w/ one of those machines, yet every time when it was checked by hand I was always fine (I know my BP is about 120/75). So, if the machine says you are high, don't worry too much about it even if it they check you 3 or 4 times consecutively and it is high each time. Make sure they hand check you after trying the machine too if it says you're high. Also, like has been said, stay relaxed, deep and slow breaths help reduce the BP, and definitely make sure your arm is elevated, it should be equal in height to your heart to get the most accurate reading.